1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of beverage containers, more particularly to such containers having a drinking straw stored in the container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,058 discloses a drinking straw contained in a bottle, a floating ball for lifting the straw when the cap is removed, a ring, and a water soluble washer, which dissolves in the fluid contained in the bottle. As the fluid level falls, the float lifts the straw to a progressively lower level.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,340 describes a float assembly for raising a straw in a beverage can through a aperture that cannot be reclosed. The straw is axially extendible, and the assembly requires a positioning mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,573 describes another float device for raising a straw in a beverage can through a opening in the can top. The assembly includes a buoyant member integral with the straw that secures the straw to the can. Similarly U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,297 describes a container having a straw with a float attached to lift the straw through an opening in the container top.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,779 discloses a beverage can that carries a pop-up straw that includes inner and outer telescoping drinking straws. The inner straw has a coil at one end for raising the inner straw relative to the lower straw and through the top of the can when the closure is open. The can cannot be reclosed, and there is no provision for restoring and holding the straw in the can after use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,952 describes a flexible sports bottle having a lid that allows air flow in one direction through an orifice offset from a liquid flow orifice. Tipping the bottle over closes the orifices to be sealed by a cap retained on a straw.
It is preferable that a beverage container present the drinking straw to the consumer outside the container but without need for a float that occupies space within the container. Floats of the type known heretofore displace the product within the container and require larger containers than otherwise would be needed for the standard volume of product that the consumer expects.
It is an object of this invention to provide a beverage container that contains a straw when the container is filled and sealed at the processing plant where it originates, the straw providing consumers a convenient way to drink from the container. It is another object to provide a container having a drinking straw that is extendible and drawn automatically and repeatedly from the container as a cap at the top of the container is removed from its closed position. It is yet another object to provide a container having a drinking straw that can be easily returned to the container and the container resealed after use without need to manually touch the straw.
In realizing these objects and advantages, an assembly for use in combination with a beverage container according to the present invention includes a cap removably fixed to an opening in the container, the cap having a plug projecting into the container; an insert located within the container, the insert held in position on an inner surface of the container, defining a guide means directed toward the opening; and a drinking straw located within the container, passing through the guide means, and having a first end fitted within and engaging the plug such that removal of the cap from the container draws the first end of the straw outward from the container through the opening.